Frozen In Time
by Hope Meijer
Summary: Tag scene for Lost City...SJ shippiness COMPLETE


Frozen In Time  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~* Title: Frozen In Time Author: Hope (Insanity-anime) E-mail: On my profile page... Summary: Tag for 'Lost City Part 2' – disregarding the fact there is going to be an eighth season. A bit of Sam/Jack shippiness and artistic/writer's license...^.^ Pairing: Sam/Jack (obviously) Spoilers: Lost City Parts 1 and 2, and one for 100 Days Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters...if I did they would have destroyed every single Goa'uld alive and most episodes would be shippy S/J...^.^ I'm not receiving money for the posting of this story...even if I was I doubt I would be getting much. So don't try to sue me. Please. But do review. Please. *~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
~*~  
  
Six months. Six months, and they still had nothing.  
  
Samantha Carter stood up from her awkward position on the icy-cold floor and stretched her cramped legs. She glanced over to where her *former* CO stood frozen in the ice, searching for any sign he had moved. Shaking her head, she allowed herself a small cynical smile. Of course he hadn't. He hadn't for the past six months – ever since he had said goodbye to them in the language of the Ancients, and it didn't look like he was going to be moving anytime soon.  
  
"Lunch, Sam?" Daniel Jackson's concerned voice broke through her reverie, and she turned to face him. Both of them had lost a lot of weight, due to the coldness of Antarctica, and the fact that they usually worked for weeks on end surviving on nothing but coffee and soup.  
  
As soon as Jack O'Neill had locked himself away from the world, Teal'C had returned to aid Bra'tac, and at Sam and Daniel's request SG-1 had been disbanded. The new commander of the SGC had reluctantly agreed, on the conditions that they chose the new team that would head the quest for the lost city of Atlantis and that they stay part of the SGC, just not such an integral part as before. Daniel and Sam had obeyed, and then returned to Antarctica with supplies and a small team of experts to figure out what had happened to Jack, and maybe even learn a little more to do with the whereabouts of Atlantis. They had been given six months, at the end of which they would have to return, with or without information.  
  
"Yeah, thanks." She accepted the mug of warm soup that felt as if it were boiling to her almost frostbitten fingers, and she studied the room they stood in.  
  
"Looks like we'll be returning home empty-handed," Daniel murmured. He knew Sam would hate to hear it, but it was the truth. "The only thing we're definite about is that Jack's in suspended animation...and we're not even sure *what* he's suspended *in*."  
  
Sam shook her head. "There has to be something we've missed," she replied stubbornly. "I won't accept it. He knew something, and he didn't tell us. We've still got two weeks before we have to go back." She set her mug down and walked towards the 'alcove' where Jack stood, tracing her fingers over the detailed carvings that had appeared in the ice after a month. So far, Daniel had only been able to translate a section of it, and that was the section that told them Jack was in suspended animation. The second part was far too difficult for even Daniel to translate...he and a team of expert linguists (some flown in by helicopter after a couple of days notice) had worked on it for two months with no success. "That section *must* tell us how to get him out."  
  
Daniel agreed. "Probably, but I can't translate it at all. The diversity is so extreme, even vague references to Latin don't help."  
  
Thinking hard, Sam crouched down and traced some of the lower carvings with her finger. "What about other European languages?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Daniel crouched down next to her.  
  
"Well, each symbol represents a syllable, doesn't it?" she said. When Daniel nodded his confirmation, she continued, "Latin is the 'grandfather' language of nearly all European languages. If the syllables and words are too diverse for Latin, try translating them using the other languages."  
  
Daniel was beginning to understand what she meant. "So if a word doesn't sound like Latin, it might sound more like the French, or German – for instance – derivation..." He trailed off thoughtfully, and grinned. "I think you have something there..." He stood up and reached for a pile of books, grabbing two or three and ignoring the rest that slipped to the floor and lay in a completely disorganised fashion – reflecting Daniel's lab back in the SGC. As he mumbled to himself about the symbols, Sam stood back to give him room and watched him for a couple of seconds before finding her microscope and studying the samples they had managed to retrieve from the 'alcove'. There was a harder layer of pure ice on the outside, forming a protective barrier to whatever was surrounding Jack. The sample from the substance keeping him in suspended animation stumped Sam though...she had never seen it before, and couldn't understand it's chemical composition. It was totally alien to her – which she found slightly ironic, seeing as it was obviously from the Ancients. Seeing Daniel sitting cross-legged on the floor surrounded by open books and notes scribbled down on pieces of paper already, studying the symbols carefully, Sam resigned herself to analysing the unknown substance for about the hundredth time.  
  
~*~  
  
"I'VE GOT IT!" Daniel's ecstatic yell caused the remaining present company to drop the work they were focusing on at that time, roll out of bed, startled, and one even stood up too fast, bumped his head on a low- hanging stalactite and give himself minor concussion. "Well, sort of," Daniel added dubiously, noticing everyone staring at him. Sam moved away from her microscope and notes and crouch down next to him.  
  
"Any progress would certainly help," she said softly. "What have you got there?"  
  
As some of the others crowded round them and the rest carried on with their work, Daniel pointed to his notes. "Part of the text seems to be some sort of riddle. Loosely translated, the rest of it talks about the Ancients ensuring that whoever was trapped in here would not be able to get out. In the early stages of their settlements here, these alcoves were used for criminals and visiting 'aliens' that wanted to create war, not peace. Later on, they used them to heal their own – if they had a disease or something, they would be placed in here until the cold killed it off."  
  
"And now it's used only by someone who contains the knowledge of the Ancients and is most likely dying or dead," Sam murmured. Daniel ignored the comment, and carried on with his revelation.  
  
"The riddle seems to be talking about the 'contained' – people trapped in the alcoves – surviving at the state at which they were retrieved. It's quite confusing, but I think it means that if we get Jack out of there, he will only be able to survive at this temperature." Turning to face Sam, he gave her a sympathetic look. "Basically, he would only be able to survive here. His body would have adjusted itself to this temperature, and therefore would only be able to stay in these sort of conditions."  
  
Sam nodded. "I understand." Checking her watch and turning to face everyone, she collected her thoughts. "I want everyone to get a good night's sleep. The riddle must be solved by this time next week, so we can start on any retrieval procedures. I will only notify the SGC if we have anything worth reporting." With that message in mind, everyone turned in, and Daniel looked at her quizzically after standing up and picking up his notes.  
  
"But..." he started.  
  
"Daniel, I think there's something more to that riddle than we realize. They must have added a failsafe device or procedure, just in case something went wrong when they used it for healing. We have to find it – it's the only way we can get the Colonel out alive." She looked at him, and he could see the determination in her eyes. It was much like the time Jack had been stuck on Edora, and Sam had worked non-stop to save him.  
  
"All right," he agreed. "But if we don't come up with anything, we go back."  
  
Reluctantly, she nodded. "I *will* solve this," she told him, "if it's the last thing I do."  
  
~*~  
  
Three days later...  
  
For the last three days, Sam had continuously been poring over Daniel's notes trying to make sense of the riddle. Being written in the Ancient's language, the loose translation she held in front of her was probably slightly different from the original, but she was hoping it wasn't *too* different. After all, she had an idea forming in her mind, but refused to allow herself to get excited about it, just in case it didn't work. But then again, she reasoned with herself, anything would be something at this point. The suggestions made by the others had been taken into consideration and were certainly helping her form a plan of action.  
  
"Murray, get on the radio to the SGC," she ordered. "Tell them we have a plan of action, and we will get back to them after we figure out what we need." The young lieutenant nodded and set about contacting the SGC on the secure radio they had, using satellites to gain direct transmission that would not be interrupted.  
  
"We have a plan of action?" Daniel asked incredulously. Smiling properly for what seemed to be the first time in months, she nodded.  
  
"The riddle talks about the contained only surviving at 'the state in which they were retrieved'. First of all, I agreed with you, thinking that however we got the Colonel out, his body temperature would be lowered considerably, and therefore would not be able to survive out of Antarctica." Daniel nodded, still not understanding where her theory was going. "But what if we get him out at a higher temperature? Maybe we could melt the ice and – other – substance at body temperature, and he would be able to survive under normal conditions then – he would be returned to his original state."  
  
The light dawned on Daniel. "I get it!" he let out a small laugh, "I really do! Sam, you're a genius!" Giving him a smile to let him know she had considered that already, she turned to Lieutenant Murray. "Tell them we're going to need some heaters that can work on long-life battery power and be controlled precisely."  
  
"If this is going to work, we're going to have to monitor the temperature the whole time to make sure that it doesn't go above or below body temperature," Daniel said. Sam nodded.  
  
"I know, I thought of that. There are some attachments you can get that are like digital thermometers. We can control the heaters that way."  
  
That evening...  
  
The first shipment of heaters had arrived, and Sam and a technician were setting up one, after deciding it would take a long time and it would be best to use one heater at a time.  
  
"I need the monitor," Sam said as she plugged it into their generator, and Daniel handed it to her. Attaching it, she stood back and made sure that the monitor read 37 degrees (in Celsius) constantly.  
  
"Sam, go to bed. We'll get one of the others to take the first shift...besides, nothing's going to happen for the first couple of shifts," Daniel told her. Much to his surprise, she nodded.  
  
"Wake me up when you need me," she replied.  
  
"Will do."  
  
For the rest of that night and the next day, the first layer of ice slowly melted, and the company took alternating shifts. Sam was due her third shift at midnight, and sure enough it slowly came round. The technician before her woke her up, and shook her head when Sam gave her a questioning look. "No change," the woman told her before turning in.  
  
Sam yawned and stretched, walking over to the heater and the seat that had been placed next to it. The first layer of ice had totally melted, but the substance was proving to be difficult. She laid her hand flat on it, and noticed the bone-chilling cold it produced even though it was at normal body temperature. There was still no sign of it melting. Confused, she leant against it, and started when she realised that her shoulder was slowly sinking into the substance. She pulled back, and carefully pushed her finger against it. It slowly sunk in, and the substance surrounded it. Pushing her whole arm in, she found she could still move, albeit gradually.  
  
As the others slept, Sam managed to get both her arms in and wrap her hands round her CO's arms. Bracing herself, she found he was moving out of the substance with her aid, and as his hand came into contact with the cold night's air it suddenly moved and grabbed her arm. She gasped – the colonel was conscious! Obviously it was because that certain limb was out of the substance, as the rest of him stayed exactly as he had been for the past six months, although a lot further forward than before.  
  
After fifteen minutes, she gave one last tug and his body came free from the alcove. The substance disappeared, leaving an empty space where Jack O'Neill had once stood. The said colonel collapsed forward – after such a long time his limbs were numb and at the moment useless – and Sam caught him before he hit the ground. Helping him sit down, she noticed him slip into unconsciousness, and calling for Daniel she searched for extra blankets and clothes for him to use for insulation.  
  
"Sam?" came Daniel's sleepy voice, then, "Oh my God!!!" He yelled for someone to contact the SGC, and woke the whole company. In a few minutes, they were bustling around, while the medical staff on the team attended to the apparently sleeping Jack O'Neill.  
  
"We need to let him get some rest," said the doctor, aiding Sam when she attempted to carry him over to her bed. They laid Jack down, and he carried on sleeping, unaware of the activity around him. "He looks fine, just a little tired and cold. I'll need to run further tests on him when we get him back to the SGC, but at the moment he's perfectly healthy. Maybe more than normal."  
  
"What does that mean?" Sam asked.  
  
"Well, apparently the 'healing' side of it has healed his knees. And probably any other ailments he has – even boosted his immune system. Looks like we have super-colonel back." The doctor walked away, and everyone left to go back to sleep, satisfied they had completed their mission.  
  
Sam stayed up because she had no bed to sleep in, and thoughts were racing through her head. What would happen now the colonel was back? Could he still speak English? Or would he still be 'possessed' by the Ancient knowledge?  
  
It was a full hour before she realised someone was standing behind her from where she was leaning against the icy wall of the alcove, deep in thought, and she turned sharply around. It was none other than Colonel Jack O'Neill.  
  
They stood in silence for a couple of seconds, regarding each other, and then in one swift movement he pulled her into his arms. She clung to him, and tears rolled down her face as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Sir..." she whispered. Pulling back, she gazed up into his chocolate eyes, and he suddenly gave her a classic O'Neill grin.  
  
"Honey, I'm home..."  
  
Suppressing a giggle, she shook her head. "You can speak English?"  
  
"Yeah. And I remember *everything*. Apart from being in *there*..." he replied.  
  
"Everything?"  
  
"Ancient stuff and all." When Sam looked at him in wonderment, he grinned again. "Sorry, guess you've got competition for being the smartest in the world."  
  
She laughed. "I never doubted that for one minute." He pulled her into another hug again.  
  
~*~ Two days later ~*~  
  
"I guess it's back to the good ole' SGC then," Jack commented as the last of the supplies were sent up to the ship hovering above them, using the ring mechanism. Daniel shook his head.  
  
"Less of the old, more of the new."  
  
"Well, I guess we were going to have to change at some point. Besides, if what you say is true and there is a new team, I'm outta there. I've been thinking of retiring for a while now. And I've faced death so many times; you begin to appreciate the little life you have left," Jack told him. Sam overheard.  
  
"So you're leaving for good?" she asked him. Sliding his arm around her waist, he smiled down at her. "I'd say now's the time. SG-1 is disbanded – they have no need for me."  
  
Sam looked over at Daniel. "We've been thinking too. Maybe if we left, there would be a whole new SGC that we wouldn't have to be involved with...we have the memories – good and bad – of the old SGC and how it used to be. We could go out on a blaze of glory – we've saved the world from Anubis. Maybe it's time to step back and let the next generation carry our life-work on," he said, and she nodded, agreeing.  
  
"One thing I know, being retired will allow me to do this..." Jack pressed a kiss to Sam's lips, taking her by surprise. Breaking apart, she stood looking flustered while everyone else looked on in amusement.  
  
"One last thing..." he said, as they stepped towards the rings. He took a deep breath and turned to face the 'ranks'. "To Oz."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Okay, so maybe it evolved into a long tag...but hey! Reviews, please!!!  
  
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